Who Says You Can't Wear a Dress While Competing in the Sidewalk Chalk Olympics?

The Olympic Dream

As the world's eyes turn towards London for the Olympics, the memories flow freely. I was just a little bit older than Alexis is now during the 1984 Olympics, so I remember. I remember what it's like to look on in awe as the impossible turns into the possible right before your eyes.

I haven't quite caught Olympic fever this year, in no small part because NBC is doing everything under the sun to ruin the experience. I don't honestly mind the delays in airing events as much as I mind the conflict between television delays and how they are handling social media. It hurts my head to see tweets from NBC announcing winners and then hours later we hear TV announcers who do what they can to make it seem like the event is being shown live. And don't get me started on how bad the announcers themselves have been...

Alexis, however, is oblivious to it all. She doesn't understand live versus pre-recorded, so to her the events are full of suspense and nerves. She gasps as a gymnast falls. She cheers as cyclist kicks into overdrive. She celebrates as Team USA wins a medal. It's all wonderful and amazing and magical in her eyes.

And it's all very do-able.

While adults all around the world say things like, "I could have done that," kids say, "I could do that." The difference is that the kids are right. Maybe they don't have the natural skill to perform at an Olympic level, but what's to stop Alexis from learning to do a flip on the balance beam?

Nothing.

The dreams are real and the goals are achievable, if only practice and luck come together in harmony.

And that's exactly why I've watched and cheered as the kid has been "practicing" pommel horse for most of the night.

Shhhhhhhh!

Get Old. Get Awesome. Or Something.

I have always been the youngest.

I was the youngest girl on the volleyball team.

I was the youngest person in my graduating class.

I was the youngest manager in the company.

I was the youngest employee assigned to the project.

I was the youngest consultant in the company.

But then one day I woke up, and suddenly I wasn't the youngest anymore. At first it wasn't a big deal because there were only a few people who were younger than me, but slowly life marched on and I started to be MOST DEFINITELY NOT the youngest.

I don't know how I feel about that. I would love to be one of those people who wraps their arms around aging and embraces it with grace and dignity and a sense of welcoming, but I'm not. AT ALL. I kind of want to punch puppies when I find a new gray hair, and I most definitely dropped a few not-nice words the first time I noticed a couple of the lines on my face that are more than shadows.

Just thinking about it makes me want to punch things.

But, yet, as I grow older, so does Alexis. When it comes to the short person getting older, I really do embrace every change. I mean, I like babies just fine, but each year she gets older, I like the kid more and more and more. Aging has made her WAY more fun. Right now our favorite thing to do together is to go to the mall and shop until we drop, and that just wasn't fun five years ago. I fully expect she'll be even more fun to hang out with in a few more years, even as she changes and becomes a new person with crazy hormone-fueled ideas.

Talk about conflict. I want her to get older, but can I please just stop right here?

It turns out I'm not the only person who is completely conflicted by the notion of getting older. Pfizer's GetOld.com is a website dedicated to the process of aging. The landing page poses the question, "How do you feel about getting old?" Once you've answered the question, you can meander your way to quotes, videos, and photographs by people who are at the same life stage as you.

There's some serious wisdom in those little squares. I spent an hour clicking and reading and nodding my head and riding a roller coaster of emotion. Growing old has a lot of advantages (it's way WAY better than the alternative!), but it's not all roses. I appreciate that others feel the same and have been willing to share their thoughts.

If you were to fill out a square on GetOld.com with your thoughts on getting old, what would you say? Answer below in the comments to be entered for a chance to win one of three $500 SpaFinder gift cards. Please note winners will be selected from a pool of all participating bloggers.

For your convenience, here are highlights from the Official Rules for the Sweepstakes. Please note by submitting an entry you are agreeing to the full Official Rules, available here.

No duplicate comments.

Please do not mention or imply any pharmaceutical products in your posts. Posts that mention or imply a pharmaceutical product will be subject to removal.

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This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Medical professionals who are licensed (or are otherwise authorized) to prescribe medications are not eligible to enter. While BlogHer encourages you to share your thoughts and experiences about getting older, comments discussing medical conditions and/or medical products are not permitted, may be deleted, and are invalid entries. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.

This sweepstakes runs from 7/30 to 8/31.

Be sure to check out the BlogHer.com Get Old page to find out more about the Get Old platform and read how other bloggers feel about aging!